The House’s No. 2 Democrat said Tuesday that much like former President George W. Bush was blamed for high gas prices during the last administration, Obama could face political pain as consumers continue doling out more cash to fill up their cars.

“They’re not at historic high levels at this point in time,” Hoyer, referring to current gas prices, told reporters on Tuesday. “But they are high and, yes, I’m concerned — and, yes, I’m concerned about the impact it has on the administration.”

The average gas price is $3.72 per gallon, according to the AAA. Republicans have pounced, trying to pin escalating prices on the Democratic White House and its energy policies.

“Make no mistake: The rising price of gasoline isn’t simply the result of forces we can’t control,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “It is, to a large extent, the result of a vision that this president laid out even before he was elected to office.”

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner wrote a letter to Obama Tuesday, calling for an “all-of-the-above” energy policy.

“Over the last three years, your administration has blocked, slowed and discouraged the production of critical American energy sources,” Boehner wrote. “These actions are bad for energy prices and bad for jobs.”

Hoyer countered that speculation in the oil markets and continuing unrest in the Middle East — not a shortage of supply — are pushing gas prices upward.

Earlier Tuesday, other top House Democrats echoed Hoyer’s arguments.

“If [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad sneezes, what gives the right of speculators to continue to jack up the price of oil?” said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.).